ClaphamFox

People are making wild guesses over the overall transfer budget, which seems to be making them panic that buying Ayew for an initial fee of £5m will somehow mean we can't now buy a striker or attacking midfielder. I think that's very likely an incorrect assumption.

In the past few weeks we've also apparently attempted to sign Matías Soulé (21), Adam Hložek (22) and Yaser Asprilla (20). We've not abandoned the policy of targeting young talent with a high potential resale value - they're just proving to be harder deals to do.

The collective meltdown on this thread is extraordinary even by foxestalk standards. It truly is one for the ages. Jordan Ayew is an experience pro who seems to be very highly respected at his current club for his attitude, his work ethic and his contribution to the team. He presses hard, constantly hassles and harries the opposition, wins fouls and can move the ball up the pitch. We were crying out for somebody with that profile in the first half against Spurs, and we'll need that type of player in many games this season. Some players improve the team without it being shown in their stats and Ayew is one of them. We might not need him every game, but there will be plenty of times where his particular skill set will come in very useful. I'm with you - I've got a sneaky feeling that some of those currently having full-scale emotional breakdowns about this transfer may be feeling more than a little embarrassed in a few months' time...

The here and now is that we need to survive this season in order to re-establish ourselves as a top-half PL side. Staying up is an absolute necessity. This task has been made harder by the likelihood of a looming points deduction. The memory of our ludicrous capitulation in 2022/23 is still fresh and the club is clearly keen to avoid a repeat, hence the focus on proven PL players who are known for their determination and batting qualities. I still think we’ll get a couple more exciting players through the door before the deadline, so hopefully will end up with a nice balance of experience and flair.

Cooper's failure to get Forest to perform away from home in the PL is the biggest black mark on his managerial record. He never found a solution for it and it ultimately cost him his job. Apparently he spent his time after leaving Forest scrutinising every aspect of his managerial record in a bid to improve it. You'd have to assume that learning how to set teams up away from home was a key part of that.

Eh? How on earth is he being arrogant by being honest with players about how likely they are to be used? Surely that's better than misleading them?

This comment from Cooper in his press conference today suggests that a deal for Ayew is not imminent... Close to signings? “I think we’re close, but we’ve been closer than we feel today. We’re really keen to get deals over the line. If it doesn’t happen, we’ve got maximum belief in these guys. I think we will, but if we don’t we’ll get on with it and commit to reaching our objectives. We’ve got a week left. Anybody that comes in will be adding to a fantastic spirit and a group of players who really enjoy being at the football club.”

I suspect the phrase 'including add-ons' is doing a lot of heavy-lifting in this transfer.

I agree it's underwhelming, but heartbreaking? As in, you'll actually be broken-hearted if we sign him? I think this signing (if it happens), like those of BDR and Skipp, shows just how scarred the club is by the 22/23 relegation. That season, we had the quality of a side that should be pushing for top 6-8. Unfortunately that was more than offset by our lack of character. It was one of the most mentally weak Leicester teams I've ever seen. We were so fragile we'd just collapse the moment anything went wrong. The common theme with BDR, Skipp and Ayew is that all of them are known as great team players who give everything for the cause. In a season when we'll frequently find ourselves under the cosh, those aren't bad players to have around. Another factor may be what happened to Forest that season. They had a very decent home record but were by far the worst away team in the division. In other words, they were fine when they had a raucous home crowd behind them, but wimped out when the atmosphere wasn't in their favour. I'm sure Cooper is conscious that, given our likely points deduction, we'll need to be much better away from home than Forest were in 2022/23. Players like Ayew, whose primary attributes are his pressing and his ability to move the ball up the pitch and win fouls, are useful when you're playing away. Of course, there is such a thing as overcompensation. You could argue, with some justification, that the acquisitions of Skipp and BDR were enough to give us what we need in terms of 'battling' players and that we now need to focus more on flair/quality. However I suspect we'll still bring in a couple of flair players too - but that will likely happen towards the end of the window when selling clubs become open to negotiation and the players themselves realise they're not going to get their dream move after all...

As I often tell my boss, there's a very hard-working employee in me - I just need to be a bit more hard-working.

How does this work? Does somebody from the selling club ring us up and say, "Hey Jon - you won't believe this but I've got an absolutely primo centre half I need to find a home for. Trust me, this guy will go quickly but I'm offering him to you first for a very modest sum of £15m...."

Sargent’s goals-per-game ratio in the Championship last season was basically identical to that of Szmodics.

Yes, we need at least one more midfielder in additIon to a striker.

Copa America I think.

Close thread mods.

This is genuinely laugh-out-loud funny in parts:

He doesn’t seem well at all…

And yet preferred to Will Alves.

It disappeared sometime in 2021. Hence the purchase of Skipp.

Soumaré has handed in a transfer request and will likely be off soon, but gets on the bench. Meanwhile Alves, a highly promising local lad who has just signed a new contract, is left out entirely. Genius, Steve.

If that’s the case, why were Ipswich able to play with a clear plan and sense of purpose against Liverpool, while we look utterly lost and confused against Spurs? I defy anybody to identify what our tactics are because we don’t appear to have any at all. Under Maresca the players would at least know what they’re supposed to be doing, even if it didn’t ultimately come off; under Cooper the players appear to be blissfully unaware of what the plan is, if indeed there is one.

Hey we’re only one down at half, time guys!

That's Maddison's job now.

If it goes to deadline day, Arsenal will be much more open to paying a large chunk of his wages themselves.

Exactly! It won’t be a panic buy/loan from us if we’ve already targeted him earlier in the window.